Can opener and cover



.Puly 2, 1935. N. P. COURTNEY 2,006,944

CAN OPENER AND COVER Filed Jan. 4, 1935 ATTORNEYS Patented July 2, 1935 CAN OFENER AND-covert v I f Nicholas 1 Qourtney l"as saic, ApplicationJanuary 4, 1933,. Serial No. 650,063

" f4 animal rate s) f This invention relates to openers for friction top cans, and aims to provide certain improvements therein.- t

In'a prior patent,-Reissue No. 18,447, I have described and claimed a form of can opener'for friction top cans adapted to be moved to various points around the periphery of the can cover and to be used as a prying implement to remove the cover from the can. In this form of opener, and possibly in other forms, it is very desirable that the opener be more or less perma nently attached to the cover, so thatit can be shippedwith the can to the retailer, and used by the consumer, without danger of losstgAnother reason for a substantially permanent connection is that it is desirable that the opener be always in prying position, so'thatall that is required when the cover is to be removed; is :to lift the opener andpreferablyshift it about the cover to various points. This permanence {of assembly is secured in the patent above-referredto by two members which embrace the peripheral bead of the can cover, thus securing a hinging connection for the cover,'so that it may be manipulated without danger of dislodgment.

According to the present invention I provide an opener and a can cover, wherein the parts may be connected by hand and without the use of any considerable amount of force, and with such a degree of permanence as to render it entirely unlikely that they shall ever separate. By preference this is accomplished by so con structing the opener and can. cover that they can be connected only when in'a relative position which is practically never arrived at in shipping or in use by the consumer.

In the drawing, wherein I have shown one form of the invention,

Figure 1 is a perspective view, illustrating the can cover and opener in the position where'the parts are being connected.

Fig. 2 is a side'view of a can, showing the opener in place.

Fig. 3 is a diametrical section of a cover, showing the opener in different position.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged viewof the coverand opener, the-parts being shown on their under sidesr a Fig. 5 is a view of the upper part of a can and its cover withthe opener in the act of I lifting the-cover.

yReferring'to the drawing, let A indicate the can body Whichmay be of the usual friction type, "and B theco'ver. These parts may be constructed so that the can and cover may have-one or more sealing faces (shown in the drawingas one); C'is an opener which is of the type shown in said reissue patent, and

which'isadapted to form a hinge connection with the cover by embracing the bead D of the latter between the portions E and For-the openem -The openerhasa cainming surface G which presses against the top of the ca -7m thecan cover, the-openers are manufactured with the parts E and F somewhat separated, and after the bead'of the cover has been ihsertedbei tween them, the part F is bent with a toolt'o make a permanent embrace. I

According to the present invention I provide a construction in which the parts can be connected by hand, and with such a degree of permanence as will fulfill the desired requirements of maintaining the connection in shipment and in use. This may be done in several ways, butI prefer to so construct the parts that they shall be disoonnectable only in relative positions which are practically never arrived at in use either intentionally or. accidentally. .In the drawing '1 have illustrated a construction in which both the connection. and disconnection are accom-y plished in such-manner that these conditions are fulfilled.-' This is best shown in Figs. 1 and 4. To accomplish the result, the cover bead is interrupted fora short distance on its under' pside as shown at H. This is very easily accomplished by notching the periphery of the blank while it is being cut from the sheet. Then when the bead is formed, the metal is curled under for the remaining part of the periphery of theco'ver, but at the notched portion there is no metal to curl, and the passage H is thereby formed. Preferably the notch is so proportioned that the top of the cover is uninterrupted and presents a smooth appearance, as indicated at J in Fig. 3. The opener itself is preferably tapered inwardly from the cam portion G to the inner edge E, but notwithstanding this the linear dimension of the portion E exceeds that of the notch H to a considerable extent.

If the parts are now brought by hand into the position shown in Fig. 1, wherein the opener is canted with relation to the plane of the cover, it can be slid into place under the bead in a diagonal fashion. Preferably the proportions of the notch and edge E are such that the effective passage for the edge E through the notch Just permits the edge to slide through the notch. The connection is best accomplished by not only canting the opener, as, described, but also tilting it upwardly as shown.

It results from the construction that once the opener is in place, the lengthof theedgeE permits it to bridge the notch, so that the opener may slide freely over it without any tendency to become separated.

Hence the opener may act as a leveror prying instrument at any point along the periphery of the cover, even directly over the notch without any danger of becoming disconnected.

The invention can be carried out in other ways, but I prefer the construction illustrated, since it secures as effective a hinging connection between the can bead and opener as could be secured by bending in the parts of ithe latter, and is as little liable to be. dislodged by the exercise of force as is true if the parts are connected by machine.

While I have shown and described the preferred embodiment of the invention, I do not wish to be limitedthereto, since various changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. The combination of a can cover having a bead and a can opener having a portion adapted to embrace said beadto, form a hinge connection therewith, the bead having an interruption over which the bead embracing portion of the opener is adapted to pass only when canted relative to the bead, whereby the opener and cover may be connected by hand without the use of substantial force.

2. A combination of a can cover and an opener, the can cover having a bead and the opener engaging said bead and being adapted to slide entirely around the latter and to pry the cover from the can in any position around the periphery of the cover, the cover and Opener having complemental portions coacting to preserve the' engagement of the two when the opener is in any operative position, said cover and opener also having complemental p tions coacting to permit the connection of the two only when the opener is in an inoperative position.

' 3. The combination of a can cover and an Pener therefor, the cover having an enlarged portion at its periphery and the openerbeing rigid and having means for embracing said enlarged portionto form a hinged joint between the two, the cover having a part of said enlarged 'portion which is of less thickness than the latter, said portion f reduced thickness being of less width than the embracing means, so that the embracing means of the opener can be passed onto said enlarged portion only when canted to a position out of operative relation, whereby the pener and cover can be connected by hand without the use of substantial force.

4. The combination of a can cover and an opener therefor, the cover having an enlarged portion at its periphery and the opener being rigid and having means for embracing said enlarged portion to form a hinged joint between the two, the cover having a part of said enlarged portion which is of less thickness than the latter so that the embracing means of the opener can be passed onto said enlarged portion when canted to a position out of operative relation, whereby the opener and cover can be connected by hand without the use of substantial force, and said portion of reduced thickness being less extensive than the width of the hinge means of the opener so that when the opener is in place on said enlarged portion it is operative even when immediately embracing such reduced portion.

NICHOLAS P. COURTNEY. 

